


Whisper

by dressmyfaceinstone



Category: Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-02
Updated: 2018-02-02
Packaged: 2019-03-12 18:05:36
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,225
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13552731
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dressmyfaceinstone/pseuds/dressmyfaceinstone
Summary: I don't have a beta yet, so please forgive any errors.  Also, I don't yet have a plan for where this is headed, but I hope you enjoy it.  =)





	Whisper

He woke with the whisper of her in his mind. In those first few breaths that bridge between sleep and wake, he forgot that she wasn’t his to want. He only knew the honeyed smell of her in his nose and the curve of her hip under his hand. For a mere moment, the heat of her skin warmed his before the intercom above his bunk sounded.

“Supreme Leader, you are needed on the bridge.” The voice was brisk and official and had the effect of a bucket of ice water poured over his head.

Loneliness settled over him, threatening suffocation. She had promised that he wasn’t alone, but she left him, just like the rest.

Rey.

Her name called through his mind, echoing through his skull until he thought he might be driven mad by the sound. It was only a small comfort that she made it away on the Falcon. He knew she lived, but that was all. He felt it when Luke released himself into the Force. Even through his rage, he had felt the breath of his spirit as he left the plane. But Rey remained stubbornly closed to him, except in his dreams. 

He sat up on his bunk and leaned back against the wall. He took a breath and reached through the Force. 

Rey.

He pictured her face in his mind, calling up the velvet warmth of her eyes and the silky tendrils of her hair. Her lilting accent, her words so sure of his future as part of the Light. Her absolute trust in his return to the Good. The comfort of her at his back as they moved in symphony against Snoke’s guards; her hand pressed against his hip for the fleeting moment as they fought together, as one.

Rey.

Then, for a mere slice of a second, he saw her, her mouth curved in shock at seeing him close. Before he could react, the heavy steel door slammed shut between them and the connection was lost. Still, it was more than he’d been able to break through in the past. The thought heartened him and he pushed off the bunk to dress for duty.

* * * * * * * * *

She could see him. For a fraction of a second, he sat in front of her, as solid as Finn who sat beside her right now at the table in the dining room. Even as her mind worked frantically to seal off the Force connection like Leia had taught her, part of her drank him in, noting the darkness under his eyes and the longing that sat naked on his face. She assumed he had just woken since he was once again shirtless with a sheet pulled over his hips. Blood burned in her cheeks and something twisted in her belly. As quickly as he appeared, he was gone and the volume of the rest of the room turned back up. 

“Rey? You okay?” She turned to find Finn gazing at her quizzically. Rey shook her head slightly and forced a laugh. 

“I’m just tired, I think. Let my mind slip a bit.” It was a truth within a lie. Only she, Ben, and Leia knew about the Force connection and, as badly as Rey hated keeping it from her best friend, she knew it was better this way. The link between them was a weakness that could be exploited. 

Finn frowned at her. “You need a break. You’ve been working really hard the last couple of weeks.” Rey squeezed his hand and then stood. 

“You’re right, Finn. I’m going to go rest in my quarters. I’ll see you and Rose later?” 

Rey wandered slowly down the long hallway toward her room. She had been working hard since the Resistance escaped the First Order on Crait. The exhaustion was likely the reason the guard around her mind had slipped and Ben had been able to reach out to her. But still, now that she had seen him, anxiety crawled just under her skin. In that brief moment of time, he looked desolate and weary. Her heart ached in her chest at the thought of him in pain. 

Slipping into her room, she stretched her arms above her head briefly before unpacking her pockets from the day. Finally stripped and showered and clothed in a simple shift, Rey slipped into her bed. They were currently camped on a sweltering planet, but her sheets were cool and clean and felt like paradise. 

As tired as she was, sleep eluded her. Over and over again, her brain tormented her with the images of Ben’s face in the moments after the last guard had fallen. The intense gaze of his eyes and his determined step toward her. She didn’t know why she had stepped away. The intensity between them, adrenaline pumping and sweat soaked after their fight, scared her; even now she felt fear twist in her gut. The isolation and loneliness of her existence on Jakku had not prepared her for that one quiet moment. Her throat had closed as panic set in and she turned to the first available distraction….the fate of her friends in the Fleet. 

She couldn’t regret that, though. It was good...right….that she thought of them. Again, Ben’s face flashed through her mind, his vulnerability displayed across his handsome face. The face that she had marred in anger in their fight on Starkiller Base. But….no….she couldn’t regret that either because it was her actions then that had saved Finn. 

Rey sighed and flopped over onto her belly, flipping her pillow to the cooler side in an attempt to lure sleep to her. The temptation to reach out to him was there, tickling the corner of her mind. She could feel the brush of him through their Force Bond as he tested the boundaries she erected. She sat up on the edge of her bunk, her feet dangling over the side. What would it hurt after all? It was just her bunk and it was just her. There was nothing for him to see to use against them. 

Giving in, she carefully lowered her defenses. 

And there he was, tall and forbidding in his First Order uniform. For just a moment, they gazed at each other, drinking in the sight of each other after weeks with no contact. Then Ben shook his head as if he was coming out of a daze. He stepped forward, keeping his eyes locked on her face, just three steps, and kneeled in front of her. 

“Rey,” he whispered, his voice filled with the reverence of a man who had just sighted a being worthy of his worship. All of the longing and regret and loneliness and relief swam between them through the Bond. Rey felt a tear slip down her cheek and choked back a cry at the brush of Ben’s fingers, wiping it away. 

“Rey,” he whispered again. He bowed his head and Rey reached a trembling hand toward him, stroking once over his silky hair before resting it on his crown. Choking out a sob, Ben wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her closer and laying his head in her lap. Whispering nonsense words of comfort and solace, Rey laid her cheek on his head, folded over him as if to protect him. 

“I’m here, Ben. I’m here.”

**Author's Note:**

> I don't have a beta yet, so please forgive any errors. Also, I don't yet have a plan for where this is headed, but I hope you enjoy it. =)


End file.
